Champagne deal with Melb venue on rocks, after owner’s Nazi swastika charges
Nine Entertainment, the publisher of the Good Food Guide, will not say whether it will delist a top Melbourne eatery – named New Restaurant of the Year, with two hats — after its owner was charged for brandishing a Nazi swastika.
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French champagne house G.H. Mumm has withdrawn its lucrative partnership with restaurant Reine & La Rue after owner Al Yazbek was charged for carrying an anti-Israel placard featuring a swastika at a pro-Palestine protest in Sydney.
Investment bank Goldman Sachs, law firm Arnold Bloch Leibler, global financial services provider Morgan Stanley and Telstra have also cancelled event bookings at the fine dining CBD hotspot.
But Nine Entertainment, the publisher of the Good Food Guide, would not say whether it would delist Reine & La Rue – which has been named New Restaurant of the Year and received two hats.
The guide just last month changed its review policy amid accusations of rife misconduct in the hospitality industry.
It reviews restaurants and bars across Australia but has been accused of glossing over unsavoury elements in the kitchen – including sexual misconduct, bullying and racism.
In response, the guide stated last month: “If a venue is known to allow criminal offences, particularly of a violent or sexual nature, they exclude themselves from being included in the Good Food Guide.
“We can’t, in good conscience, recommend venues that are known to allow or perpetrate abuse, especially when it rises to the level of criminal abuse.
“The Good Food Guide is still about where our editors recommend you eat, but in 2024 we believe diners also care about ethics.”
Six high-profile bars and restaurants run by the influential Swillhouse group were dropped from the guide over a slew of allegations, including that female staffers were pushed out after they reported sexual assaults and that staff were encouraged to have sex with customers and take drugs while on shift.
Nine had no response on Thursday about whether Reine & La Rue, on the corner of Collins and Queen streets, would be dropped from the guide.
It comes as the Jewish landlady of Mr Yazbek’s Sydney venue said “anyone with a brain would be” offended by his actions at the Hyde Park rally.
The pair had previously been locked in a legal battle over rental prices of his swanky Nomad Sydney premises.
Guela Burke and husband Robert, who are prominent real estate investors, lost to Mr Yazbek in the NSW Supreme Court last year.
G.H. Mumm on Wednesday told the Herald Sun it was “reviewing their partnership” with Yazbek’s Reine & La Rue restaurant inside Flemington’s Birdcage during the Melbourne Cup Carnival, and on Thursday the champagne house cut ties after getting official word from its French headquarters.
“G.H. Mumm is working with a variety of collaborators to bring the 2024 Melbourne Cup Carnival campaign to life, and look forward to sharing more details in coming weeks,” the statement said.
Several racegoers had already said they would not attend the G.H. Mumm marquee if the partnership was to go ahead.
It comes after the Herald Sun revealed powerful Australian corporations had cancelled large events at the restaurant.
Goldman Sachs, whose chairman is former federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg, on Thursday confirmed it had moved venues for its annual client event after the allegations against Mr Yazbek surfaced.
Since Sunday’s rally, after which Mr Yazbek was charged, punters have also vowed on social media to boycott his establishments, which include Nomad Melbourne in Flinders Lane.
In addition to the Israeli flag slur, Mr Yazbek has allegedly been seen brandishing a mock Hezbollah green and yellow flag with the words “Our boys in green and gold will win”.
No charges have been laid in relation to that claim.
Originally published as Champagne deal with Melb venue on rocks, after owner’s Nazi swastika charges
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